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tJfe DANDELION FAIRY 
and GYP’S LICENSE 


c^MARJORIE L. COOLEY 



THE 

DANDELION FAIRY 

AND 

GYP’S LICENSE 

BY 

MARJORIE L. COOLEY 



Publishers 


DORRANCE Philadelphia 


V 


Copyriirl^t 19(2 

OORRANCE & COMPANY Inc 




Printed in the United States of America 

AUC17 "2 


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DEDICATED TO 

MY LOYAL 

KNIGHTS OF THE 
SQUARE TABLE” 




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tJie DANDELION FAIRY 
and GYP'S LICENSE 



THE DANDELION FAIRY 


Once upon a time, in a large field cov- 
ered with bright yellow dandelions, there 
lived a beautiful fairy. One day the 
fairy, whose name was Rosegold, became 
discontented with her beautiful bright 
playground and decided that she would 
leave home in search of adventure. 

She crept to the edge of the field, where 
there was a garden belonging to a very 
rich old man. This garden was full of 
roses— crimson and white and pink— be- 
sides many other beautiful flowers, lilies, 
hollyhocks, lady’s-slippers, pansies, pop- 
pies— oh, so many of them. 

Rosegold slipped through a crack in the 
fence to a rose-bush covered with great 
pink blooms. Underneath the ground was 
strewn with the soft petals, which the 
roses always throw away when through 
with them. Rosegold picked out a very 
9 


10 


THE DANDELION FAIRY 


large one, bright pink on the edges and 
shaded to white where it had been at- 
tached to the rose. This she half dragged 
and half carried back to the fence— but 
how was she to get it over? Suddenly a 
gust of wind came along, picked up the 
roseleaf with Rosegold still clinging to it, 
and whirling it up in the air let it gently 
down on the other side. 

“Oh!” cried Rosegold, “what a delight- 
ful ride that was. I guess I’ll start my 
trip that way.” So she gathered some 
poplar down for cushions, found for the 
mast of her ship a fluffy little white 
feather which had been dropped by that 
monster, Mr. Chicken, when he nearly 
stepped on her the other day; and took 
two dandelion seeds, with their little 
white tassels, for oars. 

Then, her wind-ship being all ready, 
Rosegold stepped in. She did not have to 
wait long, for soon a little puff of breeze 
came by. Picking her up, it carried her to 
the top of a nearby tree. Rosegold was a 
little faint from her swift ride, but soon 


THE DANDELION FAIRY 


11 


recovered and began to look around. Down 
below she could see the beautiful field of 
yellow dandelions she had just left, and 
over yonder the fiower-filled garden, while 
on the other side a little creek danced, 
glittering, in the sun. Just below where 
her ship rested Rosegold could see a nest 
full of baby birds, who were sitting there 
with mouths wide open. This startled 
Rosegold at first, and she quickly drew 
back into her little boat, for she did not 
wish to slip doAvn one of those hungry 
throats. 

Soon there came along another gust of 
wind. This lifted her again and carried 
her swiftly through the air until presently, 
with somewhat of a bump, she landed— 
wind-ship and all— on the roof of a great 
house. Rosegold had now become accus- 
tomed to this strange way of riding, and 
when she was carried even farther, to the 
belfry of a great church steeple, she en- 
joyed the trip very much. 

It was now noontime. The birds in the 
belfry had just quieted down, after being 


12 


THE DANDELION FAIRY 


so excited over her arrival, and Rosegold 
had started to make friends with them. 
Then the great bell started to ring the 
hour. The noise scared her very badly, 
and as it rang the bell shook the tower 
until poor Rosegold began to wish she had 
never left home. A^s the last stroke died 
away the wind commenced to blow even 
harder than before, and whistling through 
the belfry took Rosegold and her ship 
quickly away. Up, up she went. Faster 
and faster she flew. This was delightful, 
and Rosegold, grasping her dandelion 
oars and leaning back in her poplar cush- 
ions, sailed, and sailed, and sailed. 

This time the wind did not stop, but 
carried her on and on, until her boat be- 
gan to plow through the mists that hang 
about the silvery clouds on a bright sum- 
mer day. Then, without any warning, the 
boat landed right in the middle of a big 
white cloud, which was moving swiftly 
through the air itself. 

Rosegold sat quite still and looked 
about. Over her head she could see the 


THE DANDELION FAIRY 


13 


deep, deep blue sky, all dotted here and 
there with fleecy clouds like the one on 
which she was riding. That great, fiery 
ball, the sun, covered everything with gol-^ 
den rays, and all about her little, cool 
breezes played hide-and-seek. Looking 
over the edge of her wind-ship, Rosegold 
discovered that she was riding on what 
seemed to be a sheet of silver, and she 
could see ’way over to the edge of her 
cloud, where it touched the blue sky. 

When she had seen all this and w’^as rest- 
ed, Rosegold thought she would like a lit- 
tle further adventure. She dipped her 
dandelion oars into the silver sea and 
rowed slowly, very slowly, toward the edge 
of the cloud. Finding there a great dew- 
drop she stuck an oar into it. The wet, 
fuzzy end soon anchored her boat, while 
she crept over the side. She did not sink 
—for she was a fairy, you know— but tip- 
toed along until she nearly reached the 
silvery edge. There, kneeling down, she 
lay flat on her little stomach and peered 
over. 


14 


THE DANDELION FAIRY 


It was a most wonderful sight she saw. 
There was a great blue sheet, sparkling as 
if studded with diamonds, spread out in 
the middle of other great sheets of bright 
green. Here and there were yellow sheets, 
like her own dandelion field ; and still oth- 
ers of many colors, mixed. Here was a 
white ribbon, winding and twisting, and 
there was something creeping along like a 
small beetle. All this, you will know, was 
the world she had recently left, and seen 
from the cloud it was a sight no other 
fairy, nor girl or boy either, had ever be- 
fore beheld. Rosegold gazed and gazed 
as the cloud fiew over many more blue and 
green and yellow sheets, and had a delight- 
ful time all by herself. 

After a long while the golden sun-ball 
began to shoot its rays out in other direc- 
tions, and no longer did they fall on Rose- 
gold’s cloud, which had now become dark 
gray. Rosegold was beginning to feel 
lonesome, and wished she could crawl un- 
der one of her dandelion umbrellas, and 
go to sleep. But she didn’t know how to 


THE DANDELION FAIRY 


15 


get back! Creeping to her boat, she was 
surprised to find that the silver sheet un- 
der her felt very sticky. It was hard work 
to even crawl along. It wasn’t far, how- 
ever, and at last she climbed over the 
edge of her little ship, ever so glad to be 
back. The dewdrop to which she had fas- 
tened her oar had all flattened out, leav- 
ing the oar right beside the boat. 

By this time the sun was out of sight 
and Rosegold lonely and shivering, began 
to weep bitterly. Her tears as they 
dropped became solid, and rolled down 
into the bottom of the boat. Soon they 
made the wind-ship very heavy, and al- 
most before poor Rosegold knew it the 
ship had drifted toward the edge of the 
big gray cloud. The silver sheet also 
seemed to be moving, and soon Rosegold, 
wind-ship and all, sailed quite off the 
cloud. She was not all alone, however, for 
the silver had turned to dewdrops and 
raindrops, and the air around her was 
filled with them. 

At first Rosegold was frightened and 


16 


THE DANDELION FAIEY 


did not know wkat was going to happen. 
But she sat very still, and presently the 
boat alighted on an extra big drop. It 
carried her gently down for a while, and 
then let her sail. This was a new and 
wonderful sensation, and Rosegold was 
glad that she was coming back to earth. 

At last her wind-ship floated down to 
the roof of a tall building, called by men 
a “skyscraper.” Here Eosegold rested 
for a moment ; then a puff of wind slipped 
her ship over the edge, into a narrow court 
between two high buildings. Down came 
the raindrops on top of her, and this time 
they were not so gentle. They squeezed 
and pushed, and pushed and squeezed, un- 
til Rosegold and her little boat were shut 
tight in a corner by a big drain pipe, 
through which came a great rushing 
sound. 

Rosegold was frightened, but glad to 
feel the earth under her feet once more, 
she drew herself into a little hole and 
pulled her oars in after her. Making a 
bed of the poplar cushions, she turned 


THE DANDELION FAIRY 


17 



her boat upsidedown over the mouth of 
the hole and went fast asleep. 

Rosegold was very, very tired after her 
day’s adventures. She slept all that night, 
and the next day— and the next night! 
When the sunshine, seeking out all the 
dark comers bright and early the follow- 
ing morning, touched Rosegold with its 
warm rays, she rolled over sleepily and 
was surprised to find that her two dande- 
lion oars had waked up before she had. 
They were now so big that they were 
crowding her in the little hole. Soon a 
Tittle white sprout appeared at each end, 
and almost before she knew it the little 
leaves had thrust themselves up into the 
sunshine, right through the rose-leaf boat. 
This of course spoiled her wind-ship, but 
Rosegold didn’t cry. For was she not on 
earth again, and did not the sunshine play 
around her as before ? 

No, Rosegold just played about with 
the little bits of crystal sand she found in 
the hole, and before very long the dande- 
lion leaves spread themselves above her, 


18 


THE DANDELION FAIRY 


making a cool, green sunshade. Then 
Rosegold climbed up on the edge of one 
leaf; and slipping down its stem, curled 
up and went to sleep right in the heart of 
the plant. 

“Oh, Mikey! Come quick, here. Come 
quick. See what I found!” Mikey, puffing 
and excited, knelt down on the hard con- 
crete, and looked to see what Abie had 
discovered. There, nestled in the dirt at 
the foot of the drain pipe, were two full- 
grown dandelion plants— something these 
two waifs of the tenements had never seen 
before. In the heart of one was a beau- 
tiful, fluffy, golden flower, covered with 
gold-dust; while in the other was Rose- 
gold, all curled up— sound asleep. 

The voices of the children awakened 
her, however, and out she sprang and hur- 
ried down among the plant roots. She 
was frightened and wished she were back 
at home. But seeing the joy she had 
brought to the two little children, she soon 
became calm again. After she had 
watched them a little she decided that if 


THE DANDELION FAIRY 


19 


she, a tiny yellow fairy, could bring such 
looks of happiness into the faces of these 
little tenement children, she would never 
try to get back to her own yellow field, but 
would stay and play with them. 

So when you see a yellow dandelion 
stuck in a little crack, and doing its very 
best to grow, you must leave it there. For 
in among its roots there surely lives a 
fairy, doing her very best to make the 
world a brighter, happier place for some- 
one— maybe you! 






GYP’S LICENSE 

“That your dog, my boy?” 

Donald lifted his hand from the head 
of a large collie dog, and turned a startled 
face toward the big policeman who had 
spoken. 

“Yes, sir, he’s my dog.” 

“Don’t see a license tag on him,” con- 
tinued the officer, who Donald now knew 
was the county dog-catcher. 

“No-n-no, sir,” he faltered. 

“Better get one then by the fifteenth of 
next month, ’ ’ went on the policeman. “If 
he doesn’t have one we’ll have to take him 
away. Looks like a nice dog, too.” 

“Y-y-yes, sir, he is, the best dog you 
ever saw. Oh ! you won’t have to take him 
will you?” 

‘ ‘ Kinda hate to, but that ’s the law. Bet- 
ter beg a dollar frOm your Dad and get a 
license. Then you 11 be safe.” 

21 


22 


GYP’S LICENSE 


With that the officer turned down the 
street, looking for other dogs without their 
license tags. 

The conversation had taken place on the 
corner, just outside the Main Grocery, 
w'here Donald had come on an errand. His 
purchase made, he turned homeward 
along the dusty road. 

“Beg a dollar from your Dad.” That 
was what the policeman had said. Easy 
enough, perhaps, if one had a Dad. But 
Donald had none. He and his widowed 
mother lived alone in a little shack, and it 
was hard enough to make ends meet with- 
out paying out a whole dollar just for a 
little tag. 

But if there were no tag there would be 
no Gyp and what would Donald do with- 
out his dog? Perhaps Gyp would be bet- 
ter off in the “Happy Himting Ground,” 
for eating was not a regular habit. Never- 
theless, Donald made up in love and com- 
radeship what he could not give Gyp in 
food. They had been constant com- 
panions ever since Donald had brought 


GYP’S LICENSE 


23 


him home with a broken leg, and that was 
when he was a small puppy. Don’s 
mother, Mrs. Higgins, had helped make a 
splint and Donald had given the dog good 
care, so he had grown up into a fine large 
yellow-and-white collie. And now perhaps 
just one silver dollar might separate the 
two chums. 

“I’ve just got to find a way somehow. 
Gyp,” said Donald as they trudged along. 
And Gyp wagged his tail in reply. 

The days passed, and no plan could the 
little boy think of. He had nothing he 
could sell. It is hard work for small boys 
to earn money in the country, and the fif- 
teenth was drawing near. The most he 
could get together was ten cents, try as he 
would— and that was nowhere near a 
dollar. 

Finally his mother found a way. 

“You trot down to the Main, Donald,” 
she said. “Take your dime and buy a 
poimd of white sugar. Then when you 
come back you can crack some of those 


24 


GYP’S LICENSE 


walnuts you got last fall, and I’ll make 
you some candy. ” 

Donald caught his breath in quickly. 
What could mother mean % Take his dime 
and buy sugar for candy? Why, that 
dime was all he had saved for the license ! 
Yet, he mused, mother always knew the 
way out when there didn’t seem to be any. 

“Don’t understand, do you, Don?” said 
she, smiling. “Well, my idea is this. You 
see the Main doesn’t keep any home-made 
candy, and I think if we make up a real 
nice batch someone may want to buy it.” 

Then Don understood. He traveled 
down to the corner for the sugar just as 
fast as he could and spent a long time 
cracking and picking out walnut meats 
when he got home. 

Mother put the sugar in a pan, with just 
enough water, and after it began to 
“string” she beat it until it was white and 
creamy. Then she put it on her bread- 
board and kneaded it very much as she 
did bread. Donald brought in the walnut 
meats, Mrs. Higgins molded a bit of the 


GYP’S LICENSE 


25 


candy into a little ball, pressed it flat, and 
put a walnut half on top. Donald ’s mouth 
began to water, and he did wish he could 
eat a few pieces, but he looked at Gyp and 
went out to get a breath of air. Small 
boys don’t want things to eat so much 
when small boys can’t see them. 

At last the candy was done and Mrs. 
Higgins called Don. 

‘ ‘ Come, Don, ’ ’ said she. ‘ ‘ I have found 
a candy box that Mrs. Jordan used for 
those cookies she sent me last spring when 
I was sick. We’ll put the candy in that 
and then we shall see what kind of a sales- 
mian you are. Run wash your face and 
hands, and you will find a clean shirt in 
your box.” 

When Donald came back the candy was 
ready. 

‘‘Now, Don, take this down to the cor- 
ner by the Main Grocery and see if you 
can sell it. This is Saturday, and I am 
pretty sure someone will be along there in 
an automobile. Tell them who made it, 
and be as polite as you know how. I think 


26 


GYP’S LICENSE 


it is worth at least thirty or forty cents, 
though it has been so long since I have 
bought any I’m sure I’ve no idea of the 
price.” 

Calling Gyp, Donald started off down 
the road. It was a long, hot walk, but 
somehow Donald didn’t mind it very 
much. His thoughts were on his custom- 
ers; he wondered what they would be like. 

About half a block from the store a tree 
which had at one time been struck by 
lightning made a seat by the roadway, and 
Donald sat down to rest for a minute. 

There was a humming sound, and com- 
ing up the road from the opposite direc- 
tion Donald spied a machine. Had his 
customers come already? Donald could 
hardly believe his eyes. 

The passengers in the automobile turn- 
ed and looked at the Main, and Donald 
could hear them say, “Yes, that is the 
store, I remember those white posts very 
well.” Then they came on to where Don- 
ald was standing in the roadway. 

“Oh, little boy,” called the young man 


GYP’S LICENSE 


27 


at the wheel, “can you tell us whether we 
are on the road to Clarkstori?” 

“Yes, sir,” said Don, cap in hand, for 
he had noticed a couple of young ladies 
and another young man in the car. “You 
keep right on this road, then turn to your 
right on the first road you come to. That 
goes on to Clarkston.” 

“Fine, I thought so,” replied the man. 
“It won’t take us long now.” 

“Please, wouldn’t you like to buy some 
candy?” faltered Donald, holding up the 
box from which he had removed the cover, 
and showing it to the lady in the rear seat. 

“My! that does look good. Do buy it, 
Jim,” said she. 

“All right, boy, let’s have the box,” said 
the man as he threw Donald a bill. 

“B-b'but I have no change, sir,” said 
Donald, fingering the money, and growing 
red in the face. 

“Oh, that’s all right, son. Guess it’s 
worth it. Home-made, isn’t it?” 

“Yes, sir,” nodded Don, and that was 


28 


GYP’S LICENSE 


all lie could say. The dollar was his, his ! 
And Gyp was safe ! 

“By the way, you don’t know a family 
by the name of Higgins ’round here, do 
you?” inquired the man. 

“Why, that’s us,” said Don. “You 
don’t mean us, do you?” 

“Well, if your name is Higgins, and 
you own the dog which I see with you, 
guess you’re the one I’m looking for. You 
see we lost a collie puppy out of our ma- 
chine, several months ago. I’ve been sick 
and unable to run the car for a while, so 
we couldn’t look him up. Then when I 
asked the dog-catcher to save me a nice 
puppy when they took up those without a 
license, he told me there was a fine collie 
out here, owned by a family named Hig- 
gins. We thought he might be our puppy, 
so we came out on purpose to see.” 

Donald was all excitement. He had the 
money for Gyp’s license right there in his 
hand, and yet he might have to give up 
Gyp anyway. 

“Well,” he said at last, “I guess Gyp’s 


GYP’S LICENSE 


29 


yours— but I’ve had him so long it seems 
as if he’s mine,” and being only a little 
boy he gulped down a big sob that seemed 
to stick right in his throat and keep the 
words in. 

“Does seem so, doesn’t it?” said the 
young man. “Come on up into the old 
bus and we’ll see what can be done. Tell 
me when we come to your house.” 

Donald climbed in, the young lady be- 
side the driver making room for him be- 
tween them. 

In a surprisingly short time they reach- 
ed home, and were greeted by Mrs. Hig- 
gins. After the young man had explained 
about the dog Mrs. Higgins told him how 
they had found the puppy, with his broken 
leg, lying in the roadway; how they had 
nursed him, and how Donald had tried 
and tried to earn money enough for a 
license. 

“So,” said the man, when she had fin- 
ished, “you loved my little dog as much as 
that? While I didn’t send anyone back 
to look him up. I guess he belongs to you. 


30 


GYP’S LICENSE 


after all. And just to make up for what 
I should have done before, I’ll pay for the 
license this year. And you can keep the 
other dollar for something else you might 
like to buy.” 

And jumping into the car he started it, 
and calling “Good-bye,” was gone before 
Donald could say “Jack Robinson!” 

But his mother had said “Thank you” 
for him, which seemed to be quite enough. 







































































